NHS staff on two wards at Norwich's Julian Hospital have been nominated for awards for their pioneering work to train and develop healthcare professionals.

Sandringham ward, an acute admissions unit for complexities in later life, and Blicking ward, an acute admissions dementia unit, at the Julian Hospital on Bowthrope Road, are nominated in the "Outstanding Contribution to Learning" and "Team Award" categories in the Norfolk and Suffolk Workforce Partnership Practice Education and Learning Support Awards

Staff Nurse Ronnie Simpson, also based at Sandringham ward, has also been nominated for the Mentor / Practice Teacher award in recognition of the hard work and dedication he puts into coaching and mentoring students under his guidance.

The wards have voluntarily involved themselves in an innovative pilot project called "Collaborative Learning in Practice" (CLiP). It enables clinical areas to have an increased number of student nurses on placement at any one time and is underpinned by a coaching model to support the individual development students skills.

Working as one cohesive team they have been able to build strong relationships with each other, as well as the University of East Anglia, to implement this model for the first time in a mental health setting.

The whole multidisciplinary team, supported by Clinical Educator Mark Randall, has been involved in coaching students to take a direct lead in service user care to maximise their learning and create an exceptional inter-professional learning environment for students and staff.

The University of East Anglia's student nurses who are on placement with Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust are the first in the country to experience a new approach to developing student skills that is based on a coaching model.

The pilot has been developed by Health Education East of England, UEA, and NHS Trusts in Norfolk. The coaching model has been used in Amsterdam since 2011 and has increased the quality and the capacity of nurse training.

The Amsterdam model has been piloted on Blickling and Sandringham wards at Norwich's Julian Hospital since November 2014. The pilot is being evaluated on an ongoing basis with feedback from staff and students.

The coaching model involves experienced nurses acting as supernumerary coaches to two to three students on each shift. At the end of every shift, coaches and students review what has been learned.

The students are coached through delivering hands-on patient care on the wards and learn to prioritise, delegate, and develop excellent communication skills.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust Director of Nursing Dr Jane Sayer said: "We are excited to be the first mental health Trust to pilot this model and look forward to working with the staff on Blickling and Sandringham wards and receiving the feedback and evaluation from staff and students."

The awards ceremony will be held at Dunston Hall on the 16th March 2015.?

Picture caption: Student nurses from UEA on mental health placement with Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust are the first in the country to learn through a new coaching approach. Student nurses are pictured at the Julian Hospital, Norwich, with clinical educator Mark Randall (centre).​